Written question asked by Lord Myners (Labour), in the House of Lords. It was answered by Lord Sassoon (Conservative) on Monday, 17 October 2011.

Banking: Switzerland

Question: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have plans to insist that all financial transactions between banks are subject to mandatory written confirmation within 24 hours of trade; and whether they consider that the absence of such confirmations played a role in the losses at UBS attributed to unauthorised trading.

Answer: The unauthorised trading losses in Swiss banking group UBS occurred in UBS's London-based equities department. Regulation of UBS is shared by .the Financial Services Authority (FSA) and the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA). The FSA and FINMA have launched a joint independent investigation into the events surrounding the trading losses incurred by UBS AG in its London operations. The FSA does not impose mandatory rules on financial transaction confirmations between banks but has rules on the governance arrangements and general statements, known as principles of business. These provide fundamental obligations to which firms should adhere when conducting regulated financial activity.

Secondary information